


Trust Doesn't Come Easy

by reynoldspool



Category: Carnid - Fandom, Desus - Fandom, Richonne - Fandom, The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Negan Being Negan, a lot of swearing, daryl and jesus will most likely be good friends rather than in a relationship, daryl is rick's "brother", friendships, i love eric and aaron too, i love richonne, i still like the idea of the ship, jesus wil most likely be rick's right hand man, judith is alive, possible cheating, rick and aaron become best friends too, this is after the lucille lineup, yes i know that desus has no base, you'll see a lot of richonne and aaron and eric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-06 06:10:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8737813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reynoldspool/pseuds/reynoldspool
Summary: Rick and Aaron cross paths with a young, mysterious girl scavenging in the woods around Alexandria. Her last group was taken down, she is alone and in need of shelter. By now, we all know that the residents of Alexandria are never safe around strangers.





	1. Her Name is Sandra

**Author's Note:**

> Hello fanfic world! 
> 
> My name is Niya. This is my first attempt at writing a fic since a very long time. I used to write fics on Wattpad but then life happened and I got busy and just deleted all of my Wattpad fics. They were stupid and poorly written anyways.
> 
> I don't consider myself a writer, but I always have these weird ideas in my mind of how I feel some things in the show should happen and I've just decided to take action and put them to use. Maybe something good will come out of this. 
> 
> A warning here: I'm always busy with school so I may not update as quickly as most writers on her update, but I WILL update. There's just no set schedule for me haha.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Aaron go on a run and encounter someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is after 7x05. Kinda sorta slow burn? Bare with me, please. I know this is short, I'm sorry.

"I don't know man, I feel like Spencer is planning something behind my back," Rick saunters over to a shelf full of opened canned goods. He starts sorting through them, hoping to retrieve a few that weren't already picked apart by other survivors.

Rummaging through the piles of cans, he continues to softly move over the cans he's already searched. "Ah! Aye Aaron look at this. Who woulda' known there'd be a can of corned beef hash still around?" He carefully open the flap on his olive green, worn-out, satchel and placed the can inside. 

"Man you hit the jackpot. I've been hearing a lot of people talk about wanting some lately," Aaron emerges from behind the desk at the pharmacy with an armful of over the counter drugs and presciptions. "I'm guessing the pharmacy in this market wasn't looted because there are shelves full of medicine back there."

Rick looks up from the shelf he was inspecting and laughs at Aaron. "You have to take change what you're wearing when we get back to Alexandria. Your outfit is hiddeous and that's saying something since it's basically the end of the world."

Aaron, smiling while dumping the narcotics into his dirty satchel, inspects his clothing. "What's wrong with it?" 

Rick looks at Aaron in a state of bewilderment. "Take a closer look at what you're wearing," Rick gestures up and down at Aaron then contines, "You have on a black and white polka dotted sweater that says 'I heart Christmas' with dark green pants and dirty boots."

"Maybe if you'd helped me with those walkers we encountered back down the road, I wouldn't be wearing this." He picks up more drugs from behind the counter and puts the last of them in his bag. "Com'on, we need to be getting back to Alexandria anyways. There's still more stuff here but we can send Spencer and Rosita out to get the rest tomorrow.

Rick and Aaron pack up the rest of their stuff then leave out the broken down market. They decide to cut through the woods instead of walking along the road because it's getting dark and they want to be back at Alexandria before dinner starts. Rick guides the way alongside Aaron through the dense trees, cautiously checking his surroundings every step he takes. Ever since Negan brutally killed Glenn and Abraham then showed up the Alexandria unexpectedly, everyone has been on edge. 

"Ah, we should hurry. It's getting dark fast," Aaron said.

* * *

About a 10 minutes later, right in front of Alexandria Safe-Zone, Rick and Aaron come up a girl sitting in the bushes looking at the walls of Alexandria. 

Rick stays back and puts his right hand on the gun holster containing his Colt Python. 

"Are you los-" The girl cuts Aaron off before he even finishes talking. 

"Is this where you live? It's really cool." She sighs, "I got here a few hours ago and asked if I could come in but that guy up there won't let him in and he said to wait for someone named Rick."

Rick looks up at Eugene who is pointing a sniper rifle at the girl, kicks his heel on the road, then cautiously walks up to the girl, starting to withdraw his gun from the holster. "I'm Rick. What do you want?" He tilts his head, eyeing her intensily, trying to get a feel of who she is.

"I'm Sandra. I came from another group not too far from here but we got overrun and I was the only one to survive. I'm just trying to find somewhere to just ride out the night, then I'll be on my way in the morning."

"I don't think that we can afford to let anym-."

"How many walkers have you killed?" Rick abruptly cuts Aaron off.

"Why does that matter?" Sandra asks.

"How many walkers have you killed?" Rick says, gritting his teeth.

"Woah dude, calm down. I've killed a lot, what's the big deal in wanting to know how many lurkers I've killed?"

"How many people have you killed?"

"I've only killed one person," Sandra looks down, exhaling.

"Why?"

"Because I had to. They were going to kill my mom and I couldn't let that happen, but now she's dead so I guess that was all for nothing." 

Rick nods to Aaron in a reluctant approval and signals to Eugene to start opening the gate. "We're coming in Eugene and she's coming with us!" 

Aaron goes up behind Sandra and ties her hands behind her back with zip ties. "Sorry, It's just to be on the safe side," He says. He then begins to escort her towards the gates of Alexandria with Rick tailing behind them.

Rick has never been a fan of freely letting people into the places where his family lives. Sure, he doesn't have to be too wary about children but nowadays he can't be too sure. Sandra could be someone that Negan sent from where he lives for all Rick knows. He feels somewhat guilty about being so upfront with Sandra but those three questions are something that Rick truly believes in and he will never not ask them.

"Who's this?" Eugene asks stepping aside at the gate to let Aaron, Rick and Sandra inside.

Rick placed his gun back inside it's holster and exhales, "This is Sandra. Her family was overrun by walkers and she somehow made her way here. She's just going to be staying the night until sunrise tomorrow morning when it's safe to travel again."

"I guess, It's your call Rick. You remember what happened last time a group was let into ASZ." Eugene makes the sly remark and then proceeds to close and lock the gate.

Rick stopped walking and turned around slowly, "Are you talking about us? When Aaron and Eric let us in?" A smirk forming on his face.

"Maybe."

Rick turns back around and heads home to freshen up for dinner. As he's walking, he watches Aaron escort Sandra to the cells in the back of Alexandria, take her inside then lock the gate and head to his own home. He begins to recount life in Alexandria since Negan become a threatening factor. Of course, it hasn't been the same without Glenn motivating everyone to keep pushing towards another day and Abe's stupidly funny one-liners. But also, the fact that Maggie and Sasha aren't in Alexandria has been putting a tremendous amount of stress on Rick lately. He knows that Sasha and Jesus will do everything in their power to make sure that Maggie is protected and has a successful pregnancy, but he's still wary. He thinks about Daryl inside Negan's compound locked away, being tortured everyday by those Saviors.

When Rick gets to his home, he opens the door, throws his bag down on the couch and calls out to his girlfriend. " 'Chonne! I'm back!"

The dark skinned, long dreadlocked, woman peeked her head around the corner to the kitchen and smiled.

"Hey babe. Find anything good on the run?"

The tall, curly haired, man took off his gun holster and belt and started towards the kitchen. "Nothing exciting, but I did find a few cans of corned beef hash and Aaron found a lot of meds."

"Oh that's good. Jude's been starting to sniffle and cough a lot. Carl too. I think he got it from her."

Rick walks up behind Michonne and warms his arms around her waist. 

"Rick com'on. We gotta get going. You know we're having dinner at Aaron and Eric's tonight." Rick slowly starts to plant soft kisses onto her warm neck, not stopping until Michonne turns around and gives him a soft passoniate kiss on the lips.

He smirks and stares into her eyes. "Now we can go."

"I'll go get Judith. Hopefully she isn't sleep or else she'll be cranky." Michonne pulls away from Rick's enbrace and makes her way towards and up the stairs in their home. 

"Carl! Com'on, we're going to Eric and Aaron's!"

"He's not here Rick. I think he's with Enid somewhere," Michonne said making her way back down the stairs with baby Judith in her arms.

Rick sighs and looks up to the ceiling, iritated. "Why does that boy always wonder off?"

"Rick he's fine. He knows how to protect himself. After all, he learned from the best."

Michonne smirked and stopped at the front door to allow Rick to open it. As they made their way out, Rick stayed back to close and lock the door then joined Michonne and his child at the bottom of their front porch, then they started to make their way across Alexandria to Aaron and Eric's home for dinner. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group discusses Sandra while at dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late and so short, I was dealing with finals. This is a shit chapter, I know. I'm sorry again.

Looking down at his clean plate, Aaron wiped his mouth, stood up and looked down the table at his family enjoying their dinner that Eric prepared earlier in the day.

"You 'kay babe?" Eric whispered, eyeing his anxious boyfriend standing up next to him.

"Yeah. I'm just trying to figure what to say to everyone."

Aaron watched as Rick held baby Judith in his arms and carefully fed her, taking time to eat some food himself every few spoonfuls. He smiled at the funny yet beautiful moment that he saw take place.

"Ahem." Aaron cleared his throat and then proceeded to talk. "While on our run today, Rick and I ran into a young girl named Sandra who claims she just needs a place to stay for the night and will be gone by sunrise. She  _is_ currently here right now being held in one of our cells."

All at once, a wave of voices erupted throught the room. Numerous questions all being asked at the same time.

"Why would you let her in?"

"Who is she?"

"Where did she come from?"

"Did you ask her the three questions?"

"How do you know she isn't from a group planning on attacking us?"

Overwhelmed by the sudden change in the environment, Judith started to whine and cry. Rick carefully stood up, with his frustrated daughter in his arms and started to rock her, hoping to somehow sooth her. He then took the floor in Aaron's place and attempted to address his family's concerns.

"Calm down please. Yes, I did ask her the three questions. To my knowledge she did answer the questions truthfully." He looked down at Judith, while stroking her long brunette hair, seeing that she was starting to calm. "I'm not sure where she's from but we have time to find that out before the night is over. I don't plan on letting her stay here more than a day or two, but that topic is always up for debate."

He pursed his lips and looked over to Aaron who was calmly watching him deescalate the situation. "Aaron, feel free to add anything. You were there too."

Aaron inhaled and exhaled. Now was his chance to say what he felt about Sandra. He had a lot to say but decided to chose his words cautiously, careful not to say something that would cause a conflict with Rick.

"Um, Sandra seems like a nice girl. Though I am very suspicious of her. She wasn't just sitting in the woods when we found her, she was sitting in front of the gates waiting for Rick and I to arrive. Her answers to the questions were believable but there's just something off about her that makes me not trust her. The way she carries herself maybe? She was so nonchalant when we asked her what happened to her group. She seemed almost...almost happy."

The room stayed quiet for a few moments, taking in what he'd just said.

Michonne spoke up. "Well, I think maybe you and Rick should talk to her, instead of wasting time talking about her." She stood, took Judith from Rick then walked towards the front door. She paused and turned around before leaving out of the room. "Also, she's a child. You plan on keeping her here a few days rather than forever. Let her get used to staying her just to kick her out a few days later. I suggest you make a decision now. Either she stays for the rest of the night then leaves by sunrise or she stays forever and we learn to live with her, whether we like it or not." She walked out of the room and roughly closed the door behind her.

"Uh, I guess I'll go talk to Sandra and see how it goes." Aaron slowly stood up and make his way towards the door Michonne had just used to exit out of the room a few moments ago.

"I'll be there when I finish eatin'." Rick scoffed and sat down to finish the rest of his food, using the palm of his hand to scratch his beard in the process.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sandra gets a feel of the way Alexandria works and maybe lends a helping hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when this will be posted but whenever this is posted, I hope you enjoy.

"Now Sandra, even though we are letting you stay here for good, there are a few conditions. One, you have a curfew of five o'clock. That means you get everything you need to get done before five and be back in your cell on the dot. You're only allowed out after 5 if you are with me or Rick. No exceptions." Aaron carried a stern look on his face as he started to list off the rules to Sandra.

"Um, second...you won't be getting any weapons for a while, so don't try anything. We have people guarding the armory twenty-four seven." Rick kept his hand on his gun holster, staring off into space, as if he was alert but also zoned out.

"Lastly...Is this the last one?" Aaron stopped talking and turned to Rick. "Rick?"

"Wha-Huh?" Rick broke his daze and quickly returned to reality.

"Are there three expections or am I missing one?"

"There are three..I-uh...Yeah there are three."

"Okay..."Aaron slowly turned away from Rick, confused, and contined to list off the final condition to Sandra. "Lastly, don't try anything. We've been through a lot of shit and don't trust newcomers easily. Hell, Rick's been through more than me but I'm sure he doesn't want to get into that. Anyway, that's it. You have any questions ask Rick. He's the leader when Negan isn't here."

"Who's Negan?" Sandra scrunched her face in confusion.

"No one you need to worry about." Rick signaled to Aaron that it was time to go then the both of them filed out of the cell and locked the doors behind them.

Now that Rick and Aaron were gone and she knew that she was staying in Alexandria for good, Sandra collected her thoughts.

When she was outside Alexandria, she noticed they had a stable exterior wall. The double gates were a good sign too. Sandra recalled seeing tens of houses inside Alexandria from when she walked inside the gates. All seemed to be in moderate condition and taken care of. She wasn't sure what house the armory was in, so that was out of the picture. She needed to get on everyone's good side. Hopefully tomorrow Rick will let her out the cell and allow her to roam around Alexandria. That'll be the perfect time to start. If he doesn't, then she'll ample time to do so.

* * *

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Sandra awoke to the loud sound of someone banging on the door to her cell...or was it the wall? She didn't bother to open her eyes so instead she lifted her head to try to figure out where the sound was coming from. When she couldn't figure it out, she laid her head back down to go back to sleep.

"Sandra wake the fuck up. I have stuff to do today and I'm not in the mood to mess around." Rick towered over her as she sat up in her makeshift cot.

"Wha-? Why are you waking me up? What time is it?" Sandra roughly rubbed her eyes and swung her legs over the egde of the cot.

"Its..." Rick rolled up his sleeve and checking his watch then continued. "It's 9:30 am."

"Why do you need me to do whatever you're doing?"

"Because Aaron and I are going on a quick run and we may or may not need help."

Sandra sat and stared at him with blank eyes. She knew that he wanted her to come with him because he didn't trust her and she didn't blame him for not trusting her, but waking her up at 9 in the morning was too far.

"Look.." Rick rubbed his face and sighed. "You can either come with us or stay with my girlfriend, who is more forgiving than me but not as lenient."

"I'd rather stay with your girlfriend. Common sense tells me I should get on her good side to get more on yours."

Sandra surveyed Rick's face, finally taking the time to get a good look at him. She noted his salt and pepper beard and how it added to his character. She also took note at how he carried himself. Always standing close but also keeping space between him and the person he's talking to; always staying cautious too.

"Get u-" Sandra cut him off and started talking.

"Were you a cop before all of this happened?"

Rick rolled his eyes and continued what he was saying, "Get up and follow me. I'll take you to my girlfriend, her name is Michonne."

"Hey! You didn't answered my question!"

"I'll answer it on our way to find Michonne. Now get up."

"Okay okay chill. I don't understand why you're so mean to me, for fucks sake." Sandra stood up and started to remove her shirt, then looked at Rick. "Ahem..."

"Wha-Oh okay, I'll be outside. Come to the door when you're ready. Michonne left you clothes in the corner last night after you went to sleep."

Sandra watched Rick walk out of her cell then walked over the pile of shirts and pants that were left for her. She browsered through them and picked out 3 shirts and a pair of skinny leg ripped jeans. The first shirt was a faded red t-shirt with a few small holes at the hem of the shirt. The second one was a black blouse that was obviously too big for her but she could make it work if she decided to wear it. The third was a white fitted t-shirt with a hole in the arm of it. Sandra decided to wear the red t-shirt and pair it with her black jeans. She quickly changed clothes then walked to the door and knocked to let Rick know she was done.

"You done?!" Rick yelled from outside.

"Yep. Let's go meet this girlfriend of yours."

Rick reached into his back left pocket and removed the keys to unlock the gate. Sandra glared at the keys as she watched Rick unlock the gate and place them back in his pocket. She noted where Rick kept them for future reference.

She pushed the gate open, walked out and closed it behind her. "Sooo...you were a cop?"

Rick allowed her to walk in front of him, following behind. "Um, I was a sheriff's deputy for King County in Atlanta."

"Oh, cool..." Sandra's voice trailed off and she remained quiet the rest of the way to meet Michonne, hoping not to agravate Rick more than he already was.

Although, the newfound information about Rick interested her, she couldn't let him know that. She observed Alexandria as she scrolled across it alongside Rick. Sandra watched as a long haired boy wearing a cowboy hat ran down the street towards the front gates. He came to an abrupt stop and checked his gun holster belt. He pulled out a black pistol and made sure the magazine was full then sharpened his knife on the concrete in front of him.

"What the hell. Hey!" Sandra quickly turned around and watched Rick jog over to the boy. "Follow me Sandra."

She jogged behind Rick and came to a stop when he did. She took the added time to quickly observe the boy. He wore a piece of gauze over his right eye kept in place by another strip of very dirty gauze. Sandra noted a small clip on the center of his hat, where something could be clipped, and assumed it must have been Rick's old police hat. She also observed his black and white plaid shirt worn over a grey t-shirt with black jeans and black combat boots. 

"Where do you think you're going?" 

The boy seemed stunned and caught in his words. As if he didn't expect Rick to catch him.

"Enid went over the wall again." He shifted his weight from one leg to another and placed his hand on his gun.

Rick rolled his eyes. "And you're going after her?"

"Is that a problem? I know how to take care of myself out there dad, you know that."

"Alright. Well, be careful son. You know that Negan's men are out there. Do you have the walkie talkie just in case anything goes wrong?"

"Yes, dad." 

Sandra watched as the father and son quickly embraced then went their separate ways. She and Rick then continued on finding Michonne.

* * *

 

"Hey Sandra, can you give me a hand with this?" Michonne called Sandra over to the opposite side of she and Rick's home.

Sandra walked over to see what Michonne needed help with.

"Sorry, I'm having you do a bunch of silly things. Carl usually helps me but he left to go find his girlfriend."

"It's okay ha. It's better than being out in the blazing sun with Rick and Aaron."

"Can you go get Judith? I think she just pooped because it smells really bad in here all of a sudden."

Sandra walked over to the playpen in the corner of the room, picked up the baby and brought her to Michonne.

"Alright, lay her on the table. I need to take the knife out of my belt because she likes to grab whenever I'm changing her." Michonne carefully removed the knife from it's cover and sat it on the chair next to her. She then walked back over to the baby and started unclothing her to remove the dirty diaper.

"Hey, can you get me a new diaper and the wipes out of that bag? It's on the floor by the chair behind me."

Sandra walked over to the chair and noticed Michonne's knife on it. She looked behind her to make sure Michonne wasn't watching then quickly took the knife and stuffed it under her shirt. 

"Sandra can you move a little faster? She's getting anxious."

Sandra jumped out of surprise. "Huh? Oh yeah sure, sorry. I couldn't find the bag, it was underneath the chair." She unzipped the bag and pulled out one diaper and the pack of baby wipes. "Here you go!" She said as she handed the baby supplies to Michonne.

Michonne took the supplies then carefully cleaned up Judith, put her clothes back on her and walked over the babypen to put her down. Sandra thought about the knife under her shirt. She took it out, steathily walking up behind Michonne. She lifted up her arm, still holding the knife, ready to attack, then Michonne turned around. Sandra acted quickly and stuffed the knife into the back of her pants. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing ha. You have big piece of fuzz or whatever on the back of your shirt. It's really bothering me." Sandra moved behind Michonne and picked the fuzz off her shirt, showing Michonne when she'd gotten it.

"Uh, thanks." Michonne nervously smiled and walked over to the couch in the living room to grab her katana then went over the chair where she sat her knife to retrieve it.

Sandra watched Michonne slowly turn around and look at her then pick her walkie talkie and whisper something into it. She then walked over the front door and opened it. "That was Rick, he was just checking up on us, but after you." She gestured for Sandra to walk out before her. "Judith should be fine. We're just taking you to your cell because I'm done for now. I'll come back and get you if I need you or Rick will when he comes."


End file.
